After harvest every year, these green chiles are roasted to smoky, spicy perfection, which pairs perfectly with the gooey, oozy mac and cheese. In the American Southwest, one of the best ways to eat mac and cheese is with the addition of the region’s famous green chiles, the best of which come from Hatch, New Mexico. Lauri Patterson/Getty Images Use Green Chile

For something simple, just sprinkle the finished product with some bacon bits (or stir them in when adding the cheese, milk, and butter), or fry up some real bacon, break it up into tiny pieces, and add those.

And you can go as fancy or as basic as you went with the bacon. The only thing that goes together better than macaroni and cheese is mac and cheese and bacon. Whether it’s a standard classic like Sriracha or Tabasco or a small-batch brand from a local restaurant or producer, it’s bound to make your meal more flavorful. Give your mac and cheese a little kick by stirring in some of your favorite hot sauce. Stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to allow the panko to get nice and crispy, and then you’re good to go! For an added treat, toast your bread crumbs in some butter and herbs in advance before putting on top of the mac and cheese. Spread the prepared mac and cheese out in a casserole dish and liberally sprinkle with bread crumbs. Looking to really class up your mac and cheese? Cover it with a crunchy coat of panko (a type of flaky bread crumb that is popular in Japan as a coating for tempura and other fried foods) or by crumbling up some stale bread to make your own breadcrumbs. Diana Miller/Getty Images Top with Panko or Bread Crumbs Keep over low heat, mix it up until everything is melted and blended together, and enjoy! And don’t forget to experiment with different varieties of cheese to find the best combinations. After draining the water and stirring in the cheese packet, milk, and butter, add gratings of your favorite kinds of cheese: cheddar, gouda, gruyere … there are udderly limitless options. But if you want to make your mac and cheese even cheesier, grate some real cheese in as well to make it extra gooey. Yes, yes, yes, the cheese blend that already goes with the pasta is both absolutely delicious and definitely not the best thing in the world for our bodies.

How to make mac n cheese from box